With its classic Spanish architecture and succulent garden, the Santa Barbara Historical Museum is quintessential Santa Barbara beauty. It’s not surprising that this couple knew at first glance that it was the perfect venue for their big day, but it is surprising that the stunning centerpieces were made by the bride and groom and their loved ones. Why? Wait till you see them and the Simply Bouquets personal florals in all their gorgeous textural glory in Ashleigh Taylor Photography‘s fantastic full album!
From the Bride… We chose the Santa Barbara Historical Museum because it has a very strong old Spanish-style ambiance that we were really looking for, and it was a completely outdoors — those were our main criteria. As soon as we walked into the courtyard, we immediately knew it was the place we would get married in. We loved the rustic vintage adobe, the dirt courtyard and over-sized fountain, all surrounded by huge succulents and beautiful greenery. It was the perfect platform for us to express our creativity for our wedding, and it was so special to be able to do so in the oldest building in town.
We decided to go with an assortment of bright, lively colors for the flowers and teal for our bridal party accents. We got a lot of our inspiration from websites like Pinterest and Etsy, searching for unique but classy ways to decorate our venue. We fell in love with the blue mason jars because they have that vintage and rustic feel, plus they matched our color scheme perfectly. We used a lot of chalkboards throughout the venue because we felt it gave off that homemade personal touch, as well as being a very effective way to say something instead of just printing it. We honestly couldn’t have completed most of our ideas without our local Michaels — we cleared out their stock of a lot of items, and I am pretty sure we went in at least once every other day leading up to the wedding, trying to complete all of the projects: invitations, favors, escorts, hand-made chalkboards, etc.
My husband grew up in Santa Barbara, which has a lot of Spanish history, and I grew up in England. So we wanted to incorporate a bit of both cultures in the wedding as well. For the food, we had a live taco station and at the end of the night, we did a sweet tea time. For the favors, every guest was given a little care package of scones and loose leaf tea we brought back from England on our last trip back in January. We chose to cut costs by doing the flowers ourselves through Simply Bouquets, a business in Santa Barbara that caters to budget brides. They provided us wholesale flowers of our choice for our centerpieces, while making us beautiful bouquets, aisle flower clusters, etc. The day before the wedding, all the family came over to our house to help arrange our flowers in our mason jars. The love and support of everyone coming to support us that day and on our wedding day was amazing and is something that will always be in our hearts.
Wedding Photography: Ashleigh Taylor Photography / Wedding Venue: Santa Barbara Historical Museum in Santa Barbara, California / Wedding Planning: La Fete Weddings / Bouquets, Boutonnieres + Ceremony Floral Design: Simply Bouquets / Centerpiece Floral Design: DIY / Catering: Pure Joy Catering / Wedding Cake + Cupcakes: Pure Joy Catering / Rentals: Discount Party Rentals / Ceremony Music: Jason Sulkin Music / DJ: Red Shoe LA / Wedding Dress: La Sposa / Hair + Makeup: Mishay Salon & Spa